Larry Frankel, Longtime ACLU Lobbyist In Pa., Dies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Larry Frankel, a longtime lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, is dead at age 54.

Frankel's body was discovered Friday in a park in Washington, where he had been working since last year as state legislative counsel.

Family members told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Frankel died of natural causes.

Frankel spent many years in the Pennsylvania Capitol as the organization's legislative director. Frankel, who lived in Philadelphia, was executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania from 1996 to 2001.

Gov. Ed Rendell called him "a pleasure to work with and a gentleman that I always wanted on my side.''

Frankel was a native Californian. He received an undergraduate degree in comparative literature and law degree from the University of California at Berkeley.